Today was one of those days that the not always reliable Hong Kong Observatory predicted would be hot and humid, with a few showers raining on the territory. Perhaps because they believed the weather forecast, there were fewer people out and about in the Sai Kung Peninsula than I had expected -- and, in fact, the queue at Hang Hau for the green minibus to Sai Kung town was way shorter than I thought it would be too!

But although I did see threatening grey clouds on the way to Sai Kung and after dinner this evening, the weather turned out to be rather pleasant, even if admittedly a few degrees hotter than it has been in recent weeks. Coupled with the air being clearer and visibility consequently being higher than it has been for a while, this all made for pretty good conditions for an outdoor excursion today.

Even while there were times today when I enjoyed taking in the views though, I have to admit that critter spottings made up the highlights of this afternoon's hike from Pak Sha O to Sham Chung (whose trail I had previously done in reverse some time back). Seconds after starting our trek, my hiking buddy and I caught sight of the first of many (small) spiders and cool caterpillars we would come across today. In addition, on the approach to Pak Sha O village, we heard -- but didn't see -- a number of frogs and saw such as the pair of grasshoppers doing their business on a leaf as brightly green as those particular randy bugs!

When another friend and I had passed through this area a little more than a year ago now on the way to Lai Chi Chong, we got to observing so many caterpillars moving atop a set of metal railings at one point along the path that we nicknamed it Caterpillar Highway. And it lived up to its moniker again today -- with assorted caterpillars, many of them brightly colored and on the hairy side, busily moving along it in either direction!

Part of me wanted to tary a while at this rural idyll but the part of me that wanted to catch a kaito out of there rather than hike some more in what was admittedly rather energy-draining heat won, so my hiking buddy and I prioritised getting to the pier before the kaito (which even on Sundays, does not stop that frequently at Sham Chung). And yes, the boat ride was lovely -- and I do intend to blog about it (maybe as early as tomorrow)! ;b